


Happiest Man In London

by EternalSushine



Category: Bridgerton (TV), Bridgerton Series - Julia Quinn
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/M, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Feelings Realization, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Friendship/Love, Humor, Idiots in Love, Love Confessions, colin is in love, no beta we die like men
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-27
Updated: 2021-01-27
Packaged: 2021-03-13 15:48:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,903
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29031174
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EternalSushine/pseuds/EternalSushine
Summary: Colin needs a date to his sisters wedding. Penelope is already going and is a friend and hey, believable right! Maybe a little too believable.
Relationships: Colin Bridgerton/Penelope Featherington
Comments: 14
Kudos: 228





	Happiest Man In London

Colin Bridgerton was fucked. Genuinely fucked. His sister Daphne was getting married and his mother was already talking about setting up her children at the wedding. As if the parties and the charity auctions were not often enough and the matchmaking mamas didn’t make an effort on their own. 

After careful consideration he came to the conclusion that he needed to bring a date, someone that his family could believe he would be dating but not marrying. Someone that would work as a buffer to his mothers match making. Someone like Penelope!

Penelope knew his family, was a dear friend and was already invited! She was also a very mischievous woman, who enjoyed pranks. The prank war of 2014 between him, Pen, El and Ben was one to remember. It was believable enough that the two would attend the wedding together and it would also be believable when in a few weeks their so called romance came to an end and they decided they best be friends. 

He called up his red haired friend and impatiently waited for her to pick up. They did do their best work together after all, and now that this idea was planted in his mind he couldn’t see anyone else at his side in this rendezvous. 

“Hey Colin”, he heard on the phone. His smile grew into a grin.

“Hello Pen”, he chimed back. “I have a favour to ask”.

“Anything”, said Penelope, nervously adding: “Well, not anything anything. I wouldn’t kill Eloise for you”.

Colin let out a hearty laugh. “Don’t worry, I could never ask you to bloody your hands like that. I need you to be my date to Daphne and Simon's wedding.”

There was a moment of silence between them. “Your date?” Penelope finally asked.

“Yes, my date. My mother wants to set me up and I really don’t want all that, so I thought that if I showed up with someone she would give me a break”, he said.

“Oh… So it would be us as friends?” Penelope asked, something about her voice sounding weird.

“Yes. But my family would see it as us on a date. I know this is a lot to ask, but I couldn’t see anyone else doing this with me. They would surely believe that you and I would go on a few dates and then after the wedding we can ‘break up’ as friends. Please Penny, I need you”, Colin pleaded for her help.

“Alright… Fine”, Penelope sighed, but nevertheless she had just made Colin the happiest man in London. Well, after Simon obviously.

“Thank you Pen! You are the best! Tell me what colour dress you’re wearing and we can match. I’ll pick you up for the wedding. This will be so much fun!” Colin exclaimed.

After the call ended Colin felt a surge of excitement take over his body, as he jumped up and danced around the study that he was currently residing in. After calming down he settled into planning how he would preface this reveal to his family. Obviously no one could ever know this was just a play put on to keep matchmaking mamas at bay. 

Two weeks before the wedding, as the family was having breakfast Colin decided to inform his family that he was bringing a date to the wedding.

“Oh, Daphne, I’ll be bringing a date to the wedding”, he said, suppressing the smirk that was forcing itself onto his face.

“But the wedding is two weeks away! The caterers have already been called and the seating chart has been made”, Daphne protested.

“Don’t worry about that, she is already invited”, he said nonchalantly.

“Who is it dear?” Violet asked with her brows up in surprise.

“You’ll find out at the wedding. It’s very new and fresh, I wouldn’t want you all to scare her off”, Colin stated.

“Well there’s not many options for who it could be, right Daph?” Eloise asked her sister.

“We are inviting 250 guests Eloise”, Daphne said and eyed her brother. “But we can obviously cross out at least half for being male or being taken. And then the family.”

“How many people does that leave us?” Violet asked, getting in on the speculation.

“About 70 guests, give or take”, Daphne said.

“That is way too many to just guess from”, Benedict chimed in. “Take out the children”.

“We didn’t invite children who are not family, Ben”, Daphne informed them. 

“Well I for one don’t really care who it is”, Anthony said and soon the conversation moved on.

On the day of the wedding Colin was feeling giddy. He was wearing a black tux with a blue tie and shiny black leather shoes. He looked quite sharp if you asked him. He was secretly glad that Penelope wasn’t wearing yellow to the wedding, since he really felt like blue was more her colour. It made her stand out instead of washing her out, and blue was also a Bridgerton colour. 

He drove up to Penelope's apartment and knocked on her door. When the door opened he was met with quite the sight.

Penelope was wearing an off the shoulder, deep blue dress that accentuated her bosom and flared out at her waist. The dress showed off her calves beautifully. Her red hair was curled and it laid nicely on her shoulders. If Colin were to describe her in one word it would be breathtaking. He marveled at the display in front of him, until he noticed that Penelope was staring at him.

He smiled at her after gathering himself like the brute he is and offered her his arm. “You look beautiful. Shall we?”

Penelope accepted the arm and nodded. “We shall”. 

On the car ride over to the church Colin explained what he had told the family. They would attend the ceremony separately and then make their grand entrance at the reception when his family would be less likely to embarrass themselves by making a scene. He knew there would be one, though he expected it to be more of them having to convince the family that it wasn’t a prank. Which this kind of was.

At the church the two separated and Penelope joined Eloise and the rest of his sisters while they helped Daphne get ready. Meanwhile Colin went to help Simon with his brothers. It was quite the luck that the two were a bridesmaid and a groomsman. 

One might assume that Daphne would be a bridezilla, but surprisingly all she wanted was for her bridesmaids to dress as they saw fit, while fitting with their colour palette. Wedding colours were white, blue and silver. Eloise was also dressed in blue while Francesca and Hyacinth were wearing silver. All the dresses were different styles, Eloise having opted out of a dress and instead wearing a pantsuit.

And Daphne was a gorgeous bride. She looked like a princess or an angel, as her white dress glowed when sunlight touched it. Her smile was warm and her enthusiasm and certainty was just… Wow.

Meanwhile the boys were having scotch and talking amongst themselves, Simon and Anthony were alone getting ready as the groom and best man. Benedict was trying to get information out of Colin but he would not budge. 

“You will see after the ceremony”.

Speaking of the ceremony! Colin had to admit that the vows had been touching and the ceremony itself was also quite nice. He stole glances as Penelope, who was also very touched by Simon and Daphne's love. He smiled at her when their eyes met. She blushed softly and Colin found himself blushing too. What was going on?

As the ceremony ended the guests made their way to the reception area, that was a short drive away from the church. Colin waited for Penelope at the gates and opened the door to his car for her like a gentleman.

“The ceremony was so beautiful”, Penelope said and sniffled. Colin offered her a handkerchief. 

“It was. Almost makes one want to get married”, Colin said with a soft smile.

Penelope looked at him incredulously, as if him wanting to settle down was something unexpected.

“I mean after the ceremony you get to have cake and alcohol”, he added.

“And there he is! Almost thought you were an alien for a second there”, Penelope laughed.

Colin laughed as well and drove them to the venue, making small talk. He saw that his sister and brand new brother-in-law were greeting the guests while the rest of his family were most likely inside.

“It’s now or never. Ready Pen?” He asked and smiled at her warmly.

“Ready as I can be”, she said a little nervously. 

“Thank you again. You really are the best”, he said and got out of his car to open the door for her.

As they stood in line, hand in hand, Colin felt a weird sensation. It was as if he could feel the warmth of Penelope on his entire body just from touching her hand.

Penelope just stood there, smiling softly and humming the song that Daphne walked down the aisle with. 

“Oh my god!” Colin was shaken from his thoughts when he heard his sister gasp. “Penelope?”

Penelope smiled sheepishly and looked to Colin for help. “Surprise sister”, Colin smiled and the two of them walked to the couple.

Daphne seemed very excited over the two of them and Simon looked oddly elated to see them together as well. 

“The ceremony was lovely. We couldn’t be happier for you, but you already know that”, Penelope said to the newlyweds and hugged Daphne. “I can’t wait to catch up with you after the honeymoon”.

Colin made his hand into a fist when Penelope let go and he used his other hand to shake hands with the groom. “Well done, Bassett”.

“Well done, Bridgerton”, Simon answered with a sly smile.

“We need to talk of this after we get back! Oh if this wasn’t our reception”, Daphne giggled and squeezed Colin when they hugged.

They were then thrust into the reception area, with Colin immediately reaching for Penelope's hand. “Do you see my mother anywhere?” He asked.

Penelope looked around and spotted the Bridgerton family, already sitting down at the family table. “There”.

Colin and Penelope strutted along, making a very casual appearance at the table. Colin pulled the chair out for Penelope who sat down and Colin looked for his seat.

“Ben? Mind switching with me, I would like to sit with my girlfriend”, Colin said when he noticed he was seated across the table, while Penelope sat next to Benedict and Eloise.

Ben gaped at his brother and sprung up. “I don’t mind at all brother!” He said and garnered the attention of the other family members.

“You’re dating Penelope? My best friend, Penelope?” Eloise asked, a little hesitantly.

“The one and only”, Colin smiled and put a hand on Penelope's bare shoulder, her skin heating up at his touch.

“Oh!” A loud gasp was heard. “How wonderful!” Violet exclaimed and a smile graced her face. “This truly is a day to celebrate”.

“Mother, Daphne just got married”, Francesca reminded with a laugh.

“I know! This just makes it even better, doesn’t it? I was so afraid he was dating some random woman but it’s our own Penelope. Oh darling, if you weren’t family before you surely are now”, Violet said warmly. The family knew that Violet was already full of happiness over Daphnes matrimony, but Colin was surprised by how happy him and Penelope dating made her.

“I called it”, Hyacinth said and smirked. 

“We all called it”, Anthony corrected her. “And I believe now that it’s official we need to pay up”.

“Pay up?” Penelope asked in confusion.

“Oh don’t think us odd Penelope. We all just have been waiting for this day! And to think it took this long. Benedict said you would start dating almost six years ago!” Francesca said.

“Well with the prank war and everything, they were flirting an awful lot. I was sure they’d hook up”, Ben said.

“Benedict!” Violet reprimanded him for insinuating such a thing. “I do have to say, I was sure it would happen sooner too. But I was not in on such a bet”.

“Okay, what bet is this exactly?” Colin asked and finally sat down.

“We bet on when you two would get together! At first it was just Anthony, Benedict and I”, Eloise said and smirked at her best friends shocked face.

“Then Daphne got in on it, the hopeful romantic that she is thought you two would get together after high school graduation”, she continued.

“I thought it would be never, so even though everyone else guessed it would happen sooner I am also a loser in this race”, Eloise concluded. “Oh, not that I wasn’t rooting for you! I just thought Colin would never get his head out of his arse enough to finally ask you out”.

The duo in question stared at each other, their faces heating up. 

“I think Simon wins the bet”, Gregory said. “But I think it is also unfair, since he has only been in on the bet for a few months and the rest of us have almost a decade under our belts”.

“When did this start, exactly?” Penelope braved herself to ask.

“When was it, Anthony?” Benedict asked.

“I believe Colin was 19 and Pen was 15”, he said and Eloise shook her head. “The bet started in 2009, but we started talking about Col and Pen being in love back in 2007.”

Colin felt sort of weird knowing that his family had thought that he was in love with a minor. And betted on them getting together before Penelope was even a legal adult! She was 17 in 2009 and he 21. 

But he couldn’t help but reflect on the years when Penelope would spend the summers at their summer house and they would sometimes sneak off just the two of them. It had been nothing more than just two friends going to the lake to skip rocks and talk about what was on their minds. But maybe his family had a point. Maybe on those summer nights by the water he had grown to like Penelope as more than just his sisters best friend. Maybe he had grown to love her?

“Oh that does not matter. What matters is that we owe the newly wed groom a lot of money. We are basically paying for their honeymoon”, Benedict groaned and sat down on the seat that was originally reserved for Colin.

“We are so happy for you two! It was starting to get a little ridiculous, with all the years of pining and not dating. I was starting to get worried that I might not get grandchildren out of the two of you if you waited too long”, Violet said with a hand on her heart.

“Mother! It’s not appropriate to talk about… Grandkids!” Colin said with his face redder than Penelope's hair.

“Why not? You two are not going to break up so it’s only natural that you two start a family at some point. And after knowing each other for about 25 years I think there’s room to rush! Oh we should ask the church if they have an opening for next spring, what do you think?” Violet gushed.

Colin swallowed and looked at Penelope who was very clearly uncomfortable. Maybe this was a mistake, his mother was obviously going to be heartbroken if she learned this was all a sham. There wouldn’t be any babies in their future, or a springtime wedding come next year. They would tell the family that they had decided to break up in just a few short weeks. But now as he looked at his fake girlfriend all he could think of was how much he wanted to see what their kids would look like. How beautiful Penelope would look like in a white dress at the end of the aisle, walking up to him and-

“I think we would like to do things on our own schedule mother”, he said firmly and took Penelope's hand in his. He had to stop this line of thinking, this wasn’t real. Penelope was just in on his stupid plan that was backfiring on him big time. 

“And I would have to propose first, and I think Penelope here would expect something far more romantic than my mother announcing that we get married in a year”, he smiled, his thoughts still circling around the idea of Penelope being his bride. Why wouldn’t his brain let go of the idea? Why was she all he could suddenly picture in his future?

Penelope, who was just as flushed as Colin was, nodded meekly. “Yes, well I do think that as lovely as that does sound I wouldn’t dare to accept a third party proposal at dear Daphnes wedding. It is her day after all”, she reminded the family.

Violet nodded and let out a soft laugh. “Here I am, completely forgetting about etiquette rules! Penelope is quite right. My first child to get married, and I am already planning the next wedding”, she said, looking a little embarrassed.

“I do wonder though, what did it actually take for you two to finally get together?” Hyacinth asked while Gregory, who was seated next to her was making a swan out of a napkin.

Colin swallowed and looked at Penelope. Why did he think his family wouldn’t ask questions? He had no idea how invested they would be in their fake courtship. And he had no idea what to say that wouldn’t completely make him out to be a lovesick fool that would never dare let Penelope go now that she was his. But she wasn’t his, and that was a problem.

“Colin called me up to meet for coffee when he came back from Italy”, Penelope said. “And as he was gorging down his third english muffin I may have slipped up and let it be known that I wonder how I ever found him to be the man of my dreams”, she added.

Colin remembered having coffee with Penelope, that was no lie. And he had indeed had three entire english muffins. But Penelope had not said anything out of sorts. He couldn’t help the warm sensation filling his chest when he thought about Penelope calling him her dream man.

“Ah yes! Probably not the most romantic origin story, but once she said that I… Something just clicked and I felt like I was home”, Colin said, staring into Penelope's dark eyes, finding himself completely truthful. Something had clicked, although it wasn’t at the cafe. It was right at this moment.

Had Penelope been the home he had been trying to find on his many travels? After all, she was the first person he would see after his travels outside his family. Hell, sometimes he would see her before he saw most of his siblings. Were his family right about the two of them chasing each other without even knowing it? Or was it just one sided, and Penelope was a masterful liar. She did pull off some pretty magnificent pranks back in the day.

Violet sniffled and Eloise rolled her eyes. “And here I thought that one pair of love birds was bad enough”, she said to Benedict who let out a snort.

“Oh, sorry”, Benedict said. “It’s just that we are at a wedding…”, he stopped to laugh for a second. “And the couple that looks the most in love isn’t the bride and groom”, he continued laughing. 

“Simon is rather awkward with showing affection, while Colin here is a golden retriever”, Anthony mused and joined in on the laughter.

The rest of the siblings, Colin excluded, started laughing too and garnered some attention from the rest of the guests. Colin felt like he was under a microscope, like he wore his heart on his sleeve. His mind and body were betraying him, with this realisation hitting him like a ton of bricks.

“That’s enough children. Let them be”, Violet said and Colin felt grateful to his mum. “We need to get ready for the toasts, Anthony”, she said pointedly.

The table quieted down and soon enough the conversation had moved on and food was served. Anthony toasted his best friend and sister, followed by Eloise reciting a poem and Francesca playing a sonnet for the occasion. The wedded couple took on the dance floor, they cut the cake and the reception started to get a little wilder.

Colin and Penelope were left alone for the first time as they swayed on the dance floor. Colin held onto Penelope's soft curves and tried to find the right words to say to her.

“I’m sorry”, Penelope said before Colin could even open his mouth.

“For what, Pen?” He asked, confused.

“This must be very uncomfortable for you… I mean, the plan is to have us fake break up after a while and your family is so excited and Violet, oh dear Violet, she’s so sweet and lovely and-” Penelope was cut off by Colins lips hitting her cheek.

“I’m not uncomfortable in the least… Pen, I feel only comfort when I’m around you”, he said rather seriously. “Had I realised that sooner maybe we wouldn’t be out here, faking a relationship”.

“What do you mean?” Penelope asked, her voice betraying her.

“I mean, that I am not faking anymore. I can’t believe it took my family's reaction to us to make me realise that you’re not just a dear friend. You are the person that I come home to, not my siblings, not my mother. You are the lighthouse that guides me back everytime. You, Penelope Featherington, are the only constant in my life that doesn’t bore me but keeps me wanting more. With your wit and your tendency to bring out a side of me that others try to push down. Never have I had to wear a mask around you or fake interest in what you say”, he said, watching as Penelope's eyes twinkled with the lights hitting them.

He bit his lip as he knew that this was the moment that what he said could never be taken back and he had to hope that Penelope felt the same.

“I am in love with you, Penelope Featherington. I’ve been foolish to not notice it before, but I have been in love with you for a long time. And I would hope you feel the same way”, he said quietly as the song they were dancing to came to an end.

Penelope was quiet for what seemed like a lifetime to Colin. He didn’t let go of her, instead he held onto her hips and looked into her eyes, hoping to see where her head was at.

“You really are the man of my dreams, Colin Bridgerton”, Penelope finally said, a smile breaking out on her face. 

“Does that mean you love me too?” Colin asked, his smile mirroring hers.

“Yes, Colin. Of course I love you! I have loved you since we were kids”, she said with certainty.

Colin laughed and spun her around, causing Penelope to let out a short shriek that was followed by a bout of giggles.

“Penelope, I may just be the happiest man in London.”

**Author's Note:**

> Hey, so tell me what you guys think! I haven't written in a long time but I keep a list of ideas and this one just begged me to actually write the dang thing. This wasn't beta'd so there might be some inconsistencies, I'm not a native English speaker nor a creative writer by trade. I hope this made you guys laugh, or just made you happy! I love the idea of the family quietly shipping them in the background and making bets on when they get together. If anything left you confused, please leave a question and I'll try to answer to the best of my abilities.
> 
> Thank you <3


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